A World Without You
by Alden-san
Summary: One year after the end of KH, Kairi is still waiting for the one person she wants most, and discovers she may finally be able to reach him. Angst in beginning (Im horrible at it), then Adventure. (Note: Kairi was born in Destiny Islands in this fic...AU!)
1. A Morning on Fate Island

A World Without You  
  
Note: While writing this, I forgot Kairi fell from the sky, and not island-born. So just pretend she IS island =born, instead of adopted,ok?  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own copyrights, etc. to any of the characters, settingsand stuff in this story, I just own the story, their current personalities, this weird timeframe I made, and any characters I made up.  
  
Chapter One: Morning at Fate Island  
  
Poverty of the heart rests heavily on the mind. This quote flashed through Kairi's head, as she sat in her bed on Fate Island, one of the Destiny Islands. Without Sora and Riku, her life had been boring, to say the least. She had her bad days, where she'd mope around, wouldn't eat or sleep much... always seem tired. She wouldn't do anything but sit outside, looking longingly at the skies, hoping for one small trace... Today, she felt almost normal. She still felt their absence, though.   
  
"A world without you..." she said to herself, looking around the room sadly. A year had passed since the worlds had been restored, and still she waited. Her parents were worried for her health... everyone was. Just the other day, Selphie had come up, and they had talked. Selphie missed Riku a lot... she'd really liked him. Kairi, though, took Sora's disappearance more to heart. They'd been friends since she'd met him, and slowly had advanced. She loved Sora, more than anyone, or anything. If he were here, then-  
  
"No, I won't think about Sora, or Riku, or anything. I`ll try to be normal. Everyone's worried, because of me..." she said to herself, trailing off into silence. The heartless had disappeared, hopefully forever. The world walls were restored, and everything was fine. Tidus, Wakka and Selphie had gotton over it, almost. Tidus and Selphie had taken it harder than Wakka. Tidus and Sora had been almost inseperable, and Selphie had liked Riku a bit more than she had shown. All of them were hit hard.  
  
A smell pervaded her thoughts, and they were interrupted again by a call of "Kairi, bacon's on the table!" from her dad. Jumping off her bed, she headed downstairs, towards the kitchen.  
  
"Ohayou Mom, Ohayou Dad!" she greeted cheerfully, as she walked into the kitchen cheerfully. She loaded up a plate, the sat at the table, eating breakfast and learning aboutthings from her mom. Her mom, having traveled all over the Islands, had an enormous amount of knowledge stored up, and she started unleashing it at mealtimes. Kairi had learned many things from her mother like this, of philosophy, foreign customs and culture, sports, and styles of living. She was 'an everlasting spout of knowledge' according to Kairi's dad, who had more than once been just as interesting.  
  
Kairi's dad was a scientist, and after the events of a year ago, he had been studying the few gummi blocks Kairi had brought back. He was trying to learn to make them, in case the barriers fail again. He worked constantly during the day, except for breakfast, lunch and dinner breaks. "I've almost cracked it!" he'd exclaim one day, then see a large flaw the next. He was also the nicest man Kairi knew... and she knew a LOT of people.  
  
Then suddenly came a voice from the kitchen, "Bacon!?" An eleven-year-old girl came speeding into their kitchen -- Hiyami, Kairi's younger sister. With long hair and a cute smile, Hiyami was popular and nice. Kairi and Hiyami had a good relationship, as sisters, and really liked eachother. "Kai, you better've saved me some," she said, looking at Kairi with a (pretend) accusatory look.  
  
"Don't worry, Hiya, I did," laughed Kairi, smiling, If anyone could help her heal from her loss, it'd be her family.  
  
After breakfast, the family scattered. Her dad went to the basement, her mom went to the living room for a rest, and her sister ran off with her friends. Kairi prepared herself for the walk along the hot beach to the ferry between islands, so she could visit Selphie on Main Island, the usual hangout.  
  
She got up from her seat, put on her shoes, and left the house they had owned since before Kairi's birth. As she walked away, she looked back... the sun behind the house looked really pretty... and reminded her of the sunny smile, of a boy who disappeared one year ago...  
  
~~~~~  
  
Okay, so it's my first attempt at KH fanfiction. And angstiness. Should I continue? Review please... But don't flame, it'll set me on fire....  
  
Ohayou is a way of saying "Good Morning" in Japanese. 


	2. A Taste of Icecream

A World Without You  
  
Note: While writing this, I forgot Kairi fell from the sky, and not island-born. So just pretend she IS islandborn, instead of adopted,ok? So, as I just found out, this is an AU fic... ok?  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own copyrights, etc. to any of the characters, settings and stuff in this story, I just own the story, their current personalities, this weird timeframe I made, and any characters I made up.  
  
Chapter Two: A Taste of Ice Cream   
  
POV: Kairi  
  
I sat on the dock, waiting for Selphie. She was always understanding, and always gossipy. She was the one that had pulled me through the most, other than my family. While I was with her, I felt the sympathy nobody else could feel. We were swome of the ones hurt most by the loss of Sora and Riku.  
  
Sora's father, Yasuke, had pined away. The only way he'd survived his depression was Lena, Sora's older sister. She was always with her father, always there. I admire Lena more than anyone else. If she hadn't been there...  
  
Riku's parents had died half a year ago of pneumonia, together on the same day. His brother, Barukar, was left alone. At fourteen, a year younger than me, he's already living by himself. Sometimes I see him sitting on the beach, his azure hair blowing in the wind.  
  
Barukar spent a lot of time on the little Paopu island, where Riku spent many of his daytime hours. I know I should be as brave as him, and be able to stand on my own, so to speak, because he's lost his whole family in one year and I haven't lost anyone but the boy I loved...Yet it hurts more than anything I've ever felt.  
  
Instead of going hard, I've become weary. I no longer wait to hear his step, his voice... although others may think so. I don't know what I'll do... I wish I could hope, but I've lost that part of me... I don't believe Sora is alive.  
  
Selphie is fine on the outside, exuberant as ever. She never lets anyone know how she feels whe she's alone, except for me. She's getting better, she still believes Riku will come back. I haven't told her where he is yet... I might never tell her. I can't think of what that would do to her... That shine in her eyes quenched.  
  
That thought made me shiver. I would never tell her about what happened to Riku.  
  
Tidus and Wakka have headed out, searching for new horizons. Me and Selphie are the only ones who hang around here, on this little isle, other than a few other kids. Most of them don't bother anymore, seeing as the best fighters of the island were gone. Me, Selphie, Barukar, another girl named Kyoko, a younger girl named Haruko and a boy our age named Takeru all hang out together, usually. Sometimes me'n Selphie just hang out alone. That's when we talk seriously.  
  
"Hey, Kai... Your looking down. Hiya do anything this morning?" a voice came from behind me, startling me out of my misery-tinted thoughts.  
  
I pulled my head by, lookng straight up at her. "Hey, Selph!" I greeted, in response to her surprise greeting. She was there, looking as energetic as ever, in her famous yellow dress, just lengthened to fit her.  
  
"Guess who I brought? Haruko! Come on out!" she called behind her.  
  
A shy girl, only 10, crept from behind the rock. Her short blond hair grew around her head, cut off at the shoulders. She liked to wear light greys and black headband. She was quite meek, and kept her eyes on the ground. Her voice was usually quiet, and she rarely talked.  
  
I absolutely adored her. She was SOOOO cute, so much that I usually hugged her at sight. Which I proceeded to do.  
  
"Kawaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiii!" I yelled, running to her and hugging her tightly.  
  
"Kairi-oneesan, ohayou-gozaimasu..." Haruko almost whispered. She digged her head onto my chest, and wrapped her arms around my waist.  
  
"Daijoubu-ka, Haruko-chan?" I asked, concerned. Normally she wouldn't be so... comfortable as to hug back. She was either getting used to me and building self-confidence, or in real need of comfort  
  
"I'm just glad to see you, oneesan. You look good this morning. Selphie-oneesan wanted me to ask you if you wanted to go get some ice cream. Is that ok?" Haruko loked up into my face.   
  
"Sure, Haru. And does Selphie oneesan have MONEY for ice cream?" I asked Selphie with a pointed emphasis, looking at her sharply. She KNEW I had no money.  
  
"Of course I do, Kai. I just got paid!" Selphie said. Then I remembered about her job at the local tea house. Her payday was yesterday.  
  
As we headed to the Ice Cream place, Takeru popped up. Takeru was my age, with messy blond hair and a big grin. He reminded me of Sora, except he had a bad streak. Once in a while, he totally changed, and did somethig really bad, like steal something, or threaten someone. His temper also rose during those times. He once beat a kid up worse than I'd ever seen, just because he said Haruko looked like a crab.  
  
We were all protective of Haruko. Her parents had died a few years ago, and she lived with an elderly grandmother. Haruko was quite frail, and we were all afraid for her health. She was sick so often, and so seriously...  
  
"Hey guys, can I come?" he asked, calling out. I replied over my over shoulder in the affirmative. Takeru was a longlasting reminder that there WERE some decent boys on the island. Too bad Barukar was busy training with Kyoko. It would have been fun to have the whole gang there.  
  
We arrived at the Icecream place just as the sun was at it's peak. Which meant it fellt all the better to sit on the benches under the umbrella, waiting for Selphie to come with my strawberry icecream.  
  
~~~  
  
Hi! Sorry about the late update... thanks for the review WindMaster. I'm glad someone liked it. Sorry if someone read the first version of this story and didn't know the Japanese terms. As far as I know, they mean:  
  
Kawaii: Cute, usually used to express unbelievable cuteness.  
  
Onee-san: Big sister, also used for an older girl friend  
  
Ohayou-gozaimasu: Good Morning  
  
Daijoubu-ka: Basically "Are you okay?"  
  
Sorry! See you next chapter!  
  
Alden 


	3. Danger

A World Without You  
  
Note: While writing this, I forgot Kairi fell from the sky, and not island-born. So just pretend she IS islandborn, instead of adopted,ok? So, as I just found out, this is an AU fic... ok?  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own copyrights, etc. to any of the characters, settings and stuff in this story, I just own the story, their current personalities, this weird timeframe I made, and any characters I made up.  
  
Note: Sorry about the japanese... It's just that I love the flow of it as I read it. Okay, if one more person wants me to take it off or lower the amount I use, I will. Is that okay?  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 3: Danger  
  
POV: Selphie  
  
I licked my ice cream, letting the cold pierce my tongue and the flavour envelope my senses. Strawberry ice cream was the most perfect tthing to me at that moment, closing my eyes and relaxing. normally I'm hyper-ish, but I'm very calm while eating my ice cream. Haruko sat next to me, laying her head on my side calmly, and Takeru was looking happy, licking his ice cream quickly.  
  
SPLAT! Kairi's ice cream hit the table, ice cream first. Her eyes were open, her body unmoving, a look of fear plastered on her face. She was rigid all over, and she didn't look like she was breathing.  
  
"Kairi!" Takeru called out, reaching over to her throat. "She's still breathing..."  
  
Amidst Haruko's strangled, frightened cries of "Neesan! What's wrong, neesan!", I held her hand and pulled her away from the two, as Takeru picked Kairi up and started to head for the closest house. "Take Haruko home, Selphie!" he yelled back.  
  
I kneeled down to Haruko. "Haruko-chan. we need to go home. Don't worry 'bout Kairi, she'll be fine!" I said, hoping that the expression of my face looked like a smile.  
  
Haruko managed to sob out an "Alright.... Can we go to your house, 'neesan?"  
  
"Sure!" I replied, and we headed off to my house, down the shining beaches that usually brough us joy. Now, I ignored them as I worried about Kairi.  
  
That had never happened before, and I didn't know about it... Could it have been the ice cream? Poor Kai...  
  
Me and Haruko stayed at my house for a while, and it was just after noontime when I started worrying too much to continue playing with Haruko and her dolls. Then, I had decided to go check on Kairi.  
  
"Haru... Lock all the doors, and don't do anything dangerous, okay? I'm... going out for a while," I told her as I headed out the door. Haruko just nodded her head mutely.  
  
I stepped lightly along the stones that lead from my house (situated on the Island we always play and train at) to the house Kairi was staying at (she had been moved to Takeru's). I knocked lightly at the door. Takeru looked sad.  
  
"How is she?" I inquired, scared.  
  
""She... hasn't woken, but hasn't gotten worse. I callewd up Kyoko and Barukar. Kyoko's still here, but Kar... He left ten minutes ago, saying she would die..."  
  
"Oh no!" I put my hand to my mouth. If that happened, Kar , whose whole family disappeared in one year, might just...  
  
No, I wouldn't think of that, I asserted to myself. I wasn't going to believe... I knew he liked Kairi, I was the only one, and if she died...  
  
"You don't think... she will..." I asked, afraid for both their lives. If Kairi died... Barukar would never be the same again. He might stop being...  
  
"Come on Selphie, at least don't let everyone else see you. Seeing you sad will dishearten them, 'cause your always so happy and fun. She believes Kairi will get better in no time, but it might be the start of something... Well, come on in..." He said, shifting himself away from the door, and granting me passage to the house. I plastered another smail onto my face, and walked in.   
  
Kairi laid on the bed, her eyes closed and mouth open. Kyoko sat beside the bed, on a chair, her blond hair spread over her shoulder's messily. Lena sat in a chair in the cornor, head down.  
  
"How is she?" I asked Kyoko, as if I hadn't asked Takeru five minutes ago.  
  
"She's doing well," replied Kyoko smiling. "She's breathing better, and I get get this drink down her throat." She held up a cup of water, and a spoon.  
  
I sat down, and we talked about what training Kyoko'd been doing earlier. I kept feeling like my voice was going to crack. Me, spunky carefree Selphie, had a voice that was going to crack.  
  
'No, stupid voice, you won't, I won't let you!' I inwardly raged. Outwardly, I was as carefree as ever.  
  
Suddenly, Kairi's formerly closed eyes shot open, and her mouth closed, and opened weakly. She whispered something... I leaned in closer to hear...  
  
"Haruko... danger..."  
  
Those two words were enough. I shot out, of that room, of that house, across the stone steps. Kyoko was right behind me, and Lena was getting up. I stopped abruptly, too scared to move, feet from my door...  
  
It was wide open...  
  
~~~~  
  
OoooH suspenseful! I lowered the use of Japanese, only 'neesan used.  
  
Short, I';m sorry, but I'll work on the next one soon. Keep readin! 


	4. Into the Darkness

A World Without You  
  
Note: While writing this, I forgot Kairi fell from the sky, and not island-born. So just pretend she IS islandborn, instead of adopted,ok? So, as I just found out, this is an AU fic... ok?  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own copyrights, etc. to any of the characters, settings and stuff in this story, I just own the story, their current personalities, this weird timeframe I made, and any characters I made up.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Flashback:  
  
~Suddenly, Kairi's formerly closed eyes shot open, and her mouth closed, and opened weakly. She whispered something... I leaned in closer to hear...  
  
"Haruko... danger..."  
  
Those two words were enough. I shot out, of that room, of that house, across the stone steps. Kyoko was right behind me, and Lena was getting up. I stopped abruptly, too scared to move, feet from my door...  
  
It was wide open...~  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 4: In the Darkness  
  
POV: Kyoko  
  
When I saw that door, I knew what we needed to do. "Guys, we need to split up! I'll take the mountain. If she's near Paopu Isle, Kar will see her!" I yelled against the wind. A storm had picked up during our wait at Takeru's house, a storm like nothing we'd ever seen. The sky was a dark, tangled mess of black coulds, the night sky and crackled of blue lightning shooting across it. It honestly scared me, I'd never seen anything more frightening in my life.  
  
I headed up the wooden bridge, which, I was afraid, was going to fall. And it did. Fortunately, I jumped a few seconds before it dropped, and I managed to grab ahold of a platform, jutting out.   
  
After that, I climbed slowly... When I reached the summit, I gasped, and ran towards the edge... Where Haruko stood, her eyes empty of feeling, like she was entranced. "Haruko..." I whispered. Somehow, I knew my words wouldn't reach her.  
  
She blinked, and all time seemed to slow... as she fell, backwards, off of the cliff, and I ran, jumped after her... fell faster, grabbed her, held her in a safe, warm embrace as we fell, hoping that she would be safe. If I could have cried right then, I would have. I believed I would die...  
  
At that time I wasn't to die, wasn't my time... as I fell, as the raindrops flew past, the world turned red...  
  
And disappeared...  
  
~~~  
  
I woke without opening my eyes, afraid to see where I was. This was impossible, I wasn't feeling the pain I should, my arms were empty, and I was lying flat on my back... on hard stone, instead of the sand that I should. Where was I?  
  
I slowly opened my eyes... to see nothing but darkness. I sat up, and found out that the stone I had felt was a pillar of stone, rising from the strange darkness...  
  
I stood, and all I could see was the darkness, and this pillar, about as wide as I am, lying down... a coincedence? Then I remembered that you couldn't see anything without light, So I looked to where I had been sitting.  
  
An ethereal light was drifting from a small orb, roughly the size of a marble. It covered the stone tower in light, but past that... nothing.  
  
Suddeenly, the darkness swelled, and my little platform became smaller... and I realised... the part that the darkness covered disappeared! To ensure I would be safe, I took a chance... I reached out to the small marble-like artifact, and took it.  
  
Scenes rushed through my head, so fast I couldn't understand... Kairi flashed by, holding a set of keys, Kar running through a field, holding Haruko, Takeru flying backwards, a stab wound in his chest... It confued me, so I did what I could doin my position that probably couldn't hurt... I sat down and cried.  
  
I stopped after a few minutes. What could crying do? Would it help? No.  
  
Actually... Yes, it would. Crying let's suppressed feelings get washed away, my father had said.   
  
"Kyoko, don't be ashamed. Crying is actually good for you... in moderation. Don't depress yourself by doing it constantly, but don't bottle feelings up too much either. Both do more harm than their worth, y'see?"  
  
She smiled. Good ol' dad...  
  
'Now', she decided, 'I'm going to get out of here..." I pu8lled out the marble-thingie. 'And this thing'll help me!'  
  
I brought it up to my mouth and bit it... and it shattered... And most of the stone column I was on did too...  
  
"Ahhhh!!!!" I cried, thowing myself to the ground, curling up into a ball, shaking furiously. I'd never been so scared in my life, as much as I had in the past few hours. Kairi.... Haruko... this place.... and now I was going to die. It just wasn't fair!  
  
Suddenly, the pillar stopped shaking... and I opened my eyes...   
  
I saw the ground.  
  
I was still curled up, and my head was between my knees, looking down. So I was seeing the ground. So, I got up, and looked around.  
  
The solid stone pillar I had been on, thjat had seemed to go down for miles... still did. But, if was now in the frorm of stairs. I sighed. 'Not now, not ever,' I shrugged, and headed towards the stairs... my only hope...  
  
~~~~  
  
I'M SO SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
I got... distracted. I won't worry if you've forgoten this poor little story, but if you have, please continue reqading? It may be a long wait between chapters, but...  
  
Thank you for reading and not beating me with salmon!  
  
Alden 


	5. Escape

I awoke to the sound of screamng. Worried, I jumped up and looked around...  
  
I was in a cold steel cell, like a box, without openings. Not even a barred window, the only break in the cold hard steel being the mesh sttreched out over what I presumed to be a heater. The room, though, was cold, and in my summer gear, it chilled me to the bone. What had happened?  
  
I looked around, frantic, andsearched every point in the wall for an opening I could use... The mesh was a kind I'd recognised from Destiny Islands, not something you can break easily with your hands. It was tough stuff. I wracked my brain for a solution, but I came up with nothing. I wouldn't hve long until I was too cold to move...  
  
THAT is what the opening in the wall was for! It was making the room colder! I removed my light swimming jacket, now colder than ever, and covered the opening. Gradually, it got warmer, but not too much. Seeing as I had nothing to do, I decided to exercise a bit, and did a few stretches. I kept an eye on the room, paying close attention to the things around me.  
  
After a while, I was too tired to continue, and laid down to rest a bit...  
  
Later, I wished I hadn't...  
  
~~~~  
  
A World Without You  
  
Alden-san  
  
Chapter 5: Escape  
  
Disclaimer: I own not, the Kindom Hearts game, nor do I own the characters, settings etc. that I use that I did not create myself.  
  
Note: A lot of parts in this chap are 1st person. Those are all the same person, while the other scenes are 3rd. Also, I use a character from FF8, and I've only played the first cd or two.  
  
~~~~  
  
"Yasuke-kun?" A woman's voice came from outside.  
  
Yasuke Takemori wasn't a young man, but he wasn't old. He had short, ruffled black hair, and a large, muscular figure. He was a father, but not a grandfather, and he was peaceful. His son disappeared last year, and although he doesn't know it, Yasuke's daughter did last night. Yasuke's soul and heart are in trouble.  
  
"Yasuke-kun? Are you in there?" the woman called again.  
  
"Jun? Great to see you! Umm..." Yasuke started to say soemthing to the woman, Jun, after opening the door for her and letting her in. "Ummm... Did Lena crash at your place last night? She didn't come home yesterday afternoon, when she went out to see a sick friend..."  
  
Jun Toki, a younger woman than Yasuke by a few years, was Takeru's mother. Her messy blond hair, and perpetual smile were know to her many friends, and she was active in the community, doing anything for anyone.  
  
Jun frowned, disappointed. " Well, Takeru left yesterday to see his friends too, I thought they might've come here... I went to a meeting of the D.I.H.P.C. and he was gone when I came back... I called Sano and Kari, they haven't seen them either.... It's like they van-" Jun stopped. She was NOT going to tell Yasuke his daughter had disappeared, when his only son had done the same thing the year before. "I think.... maybe they went to visit Tidus and Wakka on the other island, and stayed over there..."  
  
"Well, it seems I don't know Kairi as well as I thought.... I expected Kairi wouldn't miss her sister's bithday party to see some friends she could see tomorrow...." Yasuke saw through her excuse. "Don't hide the truth from me, they're gone. Last time, three disappeared. One of them came back. This time, I know Lena will. So don't worry about it. 'Kay?" he smiled weakly at Jun.  
  
"'Kay..." she returned it, and turned to walk out of the door. After three steps, Yasuke called after her, asking her to stay for a while. She acceded.  
  
~~~  
  
I awoke to the sound of things smashing together. My head ached, and everything was different. I opened my eyes.  
  
I was sitting in the middle of a room, like the last one where I'd fallen asleep, except the vent was gone, it was warm, and the two of the walls were spinning. Yes, they were moving around, letting me catch a glimpse of the other side.  
  
Anther difference was that the floor was tiled, and each was about as big as one of my feet. As I clambered to my feet, the wall sped up. I took a step towards them and they lowed. Thinking it ws may chance, I ran a few steps closer...  
  
They sped up, faster this time. It confused me, really... I stepped back once, and thy sped up even more...I steped sideways, and they stopped completely...  
  
I figured it out! The speeds had something to do with my movements I stepped catiously to the side, and one slowed down. I jumped, hoping that I wouldn't set it off, and grabbed onto a handle that was on one of the walls. I was swept along, until I was in another room.  
  
I jumped, landing on the floor... and realised how stupid it was to not look before leaping. There was some sort of trampoline that had replaced the floor, and I'd had enough momentum when I landed to almost smash my head into the ceiling.  
  
I stood, slowly, then realised something... The wires on the trampoline were weak, and there was nothing underneath but a deeeeeeep hole... I gulped, and looked around. The wall had stopped moving, and there was no exit... and eventually the 'bouncer wouldn't be able to support my weight for long...  
  
'Stupid! How LONG have you lived on Destiny Islands, and you STILL managed to forget that there are FIVE directions you can go?' I argued with myself mentally. "You're on an instrument of going up, so look where you bounce!'  
  
I looked, and there seriously WAS a small hole... The bouncer didn't have ythe strength to build up a jump like that. I'd have two tried to bounce in, then I'd just barely have the amount left to get back to the- Oh gfreat, I remembered the wall'd stopped. This was my only chance it'd take exact precision...   
  
I stepped my way to the little hole, and looked up. Good, exact angle... I mustered up my strength, got ready to jump... and slipped, smashing my face into the soft fabric...I pushed off with my hands to get up...  
  
I shot through the air. It seemed the net had stored momentum or something, 'cause I was in the air, hoping I'd make it... With a WHOOSH! I was through, and I opened my eyes just in time to avoid falling back down and breaking my neck. I swung about and landed on my feet...  
  
"Good job..." a guy said, sitting on a bed opposite me. Blond hair spiked in the front, smirk and tough body language. He was wearing a black jacket, and I noted metal fists.The thing that caught my eye, though, was a tattoo on his face, a black design that wandered up to the middle of his forehead from the bottom of his left cheek, reminding me of a wing. The first shape, a line with elegant spikes portruding from in, went from the area in front of the ear to the middle of the forehead, and at the cheek two other strands led off, one under the eye halfway down the cheek to the eye's end, and the other going, basically straght down to the bottom of the cheek.  
  
"Who-" I started, wondering why this weird guy was here.  
  
He held up his hand. "Dincht Zell. You?" he asked, smirking like a tough know-it-all. He didn't seem to have grown up since his teens, since he was very loose and confident.  
  
"Umm... Toki Takeru. Anyways, What- Why am I here? Where IS here?" I asked frantically.  
  
"You seriously don't know? Well.... You're in the middle of the trials for the Abolishment League... You don't know what that is, do you?"   
  
I shook my head.  
  
"It's a group of warriors that are in charge of destroying the heartless threat to the world."  
  
"What is that?" I asked, wondering what kind of threat they would call 'heartless'... Killing children, maybe?  
  
"Heartless, little black things that scurry about stealing peoples hearts, and really ruining everything... You must be on one of those safe, backwards worlds... Which one are you from?" Zell asked me.   
  
Flustered, I answered, "Destiny Islands..."  
  
"Ahh..." He turned to a computer (Yes, we DO have computers on Destiny Islands) and pressed a few characters on the keyboard. "You've come a long way... Well, If you've made it this far... Just go through that door, you might as well take the last test, and get a good lesson on heartless, okay? If youget through, go trough the door, give them this card," he passed me a small business card with some letters scrawled on it, "And wait for Irvine. He'll tell you..."  
  
I had a question... "How will I know when I'm done?"  
  
"Well, he doesn't get up once he's beaten down... Basically, the green light on the wall will flash, 'kay? Now, get out there!" he said, giving me a hefty pat on the back and pushing me through the door.  
  
When I got in, I stopped, breathed in, and called back through the door, "You said HIM, but there's THREE of them out here! And I think one or two of them are girls!"  
  
Oh, this was gonna be hard...  
  
~~~  
  
Done!   
  
EDIT: I'm gonna make a decision... and I need help... Okay...  
  
I could probably get more done if I just wrote randomly and stuck everything I'd done at the end of the month, but you guys would have to wait a month before reading anything... -- But, what I WOULD have would keep you reading longer, so, should I:  
  
1) Keep pdating sporadically, whenever I finish things, or  
  
2) Write for a month, post things at the end.  
  
PLEASE help me with this - If you've already reviewed, I think you can do an anonymouys. I'm putting this note on all of my fics... 


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